who knew
by constancedartagnan
Summary: I watched the movie again and felt like writing this. Not so fond of the ending though. /i know better 'cause you said forever, and ever, who knew/


_you took my hand, you showed me how, you promised me you'd be around  
i took your words and i believed in everything you said to me_

Growing up, she wasn't the most popular girl. Heck, she wasn't popular at all. She had no friends, because everyone thought she was sort of creepy and weird. But the thing was, they didn't like her because she wasn't like the rest of them. She dressed differently, behaved differently, and being different, she stuck out like a sore thumb. She could still clearly remember her mother's words: „Different is nice, but it sure isn't pretty, pretty is what it's about."

Her mother was a socialite and used every opportunity she could to show-off, even when she had nothing to brag about. She would buy GoGo dresses, shoes, makeup, in hopes that the girl would learn to love that stuff, and finally behave like a one. But it never worked. Her father was more understanding, and when her mother wasn't looking, he'd slip her some money to buy the clothes she wants.

So when her father got a job in a new city and announced they were moving, she didn't argue. They brought her to San Fransokyo.

She never considered herself smart. She didn't think she was stupid, just not smart enough. She was shocked, to say the least, when she got a letter from the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. Her mom would say the institute wasn't her first choice for her daughter, but seeing as GoGo had no other interests(that she knew of), she reluctantly accepted that her daughter was a 'nerd', as she put it.

She didn't talk to anyone during her first week of school. It's not that she didn't want to, she just didn't know how. Never having a friend to talk to doesn't give you much experience at small talk. Somehow, she felt that everyone was always staring at her. Or maybe that was just him.

„What are you reading?" An unknown voice broke her state of peace. She was sitting on the grass, back against a tree, during lunchtime.

She looked up from the book and saw a boy her age with black hair, a hat covering most of it, smilling at her. Without saying a word, she turned the book so he could see the title, but then resumed reading.

He sat down next to her, dropping his bag from his shoulder onto the ground.

„Not much of a talker?" He asked. She simply shook her head.

„Well, I'm Tadashi. Tadashi Hamada."

„GoGo." Was all she said back. The guy seemed too chirpy.

„I was wondering, would you like to have lunch with me and my friends? They're really cool, I promise." He met her eyes when she looked up from her book, shocked.

GoGo looked over to the people he was pointing at and pretended not to notice that the three of them were staring at them until she met their eyes.

„You want _me_ to have lunch with you guys?"

So she did. She ate lunch with them every day from that moment. Sometimes she wouldn't talk, sometimes she would laugh with them, but they all just clicked.

At first, she was closest to Honey Lemon. Being the only girl besides her, Honey understood more than the boys could, and she was able to talk to her about anything troubling her. They were complete opposites, yet they balanced each other out.

Somehow, between long hours at the lab, coffee breaks and late night talks, she got to know Tadashi Hamada better than he knew himself. He told her about his brother, Hiro, who is a young genius, and yet he wastes his life away on bot fights. He told her about his parents dying, how crushed it left him and his brother, and how much they miss a parental figure. He told her about his aunt Cass, their legal guardian, and how he doesn't want to worry her, because she never asked for this, and he didn't want to be a burden.

The confessions weren't one-sided. She told him about her childhood. Friendless, with her mother putting a lot of pressure on her for not being the perfect daughter she needed her to be. He learned that she feels lonely most of the time, and the feeling is there even in a crowd of people. He promised he would never let her be lonely again. She believed him. Because he was Tadashi, and he always kept his promises. Especially the ones made to GoGo.

-TN-

 _if someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone  
i'd stand up and punch them out, 'cause they're all wrong_

They're not sure exactly how or when it happened. But it was inevitable.

She found him in his lab, working on his project, like he often did the past few weeks. She walked in, sat on her chair, and waited. She didn't need to announce her arrival, he knew she was there.

After a couple of minutes, he finally sighed. „I'll never finish him in time."

„Him?"

„Yeah, I gave him a name. Baymax." He said, reluctantly giving up and turning to face her.

„Wow, just when I thought you couldn't possibly out-nerd yourself." She playfully said, making him laugh. These days, she was the only one able to do that.

„What can I say? I'm just that awesome."

„Whatever floats your boat." He got up from his spot on the floor, pulled up the other chair and sat next to her.

Neither said anything for a while, both enjoying the comfortable silence. It was like this sometimes. She would come into the lab, sit down, he'd join her minutes later and they wouldn't talk. Not one word. But they didn't mind. It was enough to know that they were there for each other, even without words.

„GoGo, am I fun to be around?" Tadashi broke the silence, asking her the question that has been on his mind for quite some time.

„Of course. Why would you ask me that?"

„Well, Hiro brought it to my attention once that I don't do much. I just „nerd out" in my lab all day. Does that make me boring?" He turns the chair so he's facing her.

„Are you seriously taking advice from a thirteen-year-old? Wow, Hamada." She almost grinned, also turning her chair.

„Just answer the question."

„Someone's grumpy. No, you're not boring. In fact, I feel like you're the only person who suits my liking all the time. I love Honey to death, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I can't be around the constant positivity and chirpiness. You, on the other hand, are somehow always exactly the way I need you. And you always know what to say." GoGo gave him a small smile. She's never so openly confessed how she felt about Tadashi, so this was pretty hard for her to do. „I guess what I'm trying to say is, I like you. I like it when you're around me, and I like how I feel around you."

„How do you feel around me?" He leaned in, his forehead against hers.

„I don't feel so alone."

So he kissed her. Because, honestly, what else was he supposed to do? And he was over the moon, since she kissed him back.

When her mother told her she needed to go to some sort of formal lunch/dinner/whatever it was, it's safe to say that she was not thrilled. But Tadashi was.

„Are you kidding? I finally get to see you in a dress? I'm all for it."

Fortunately for him, her mother told her it was a 'Bring a date' event. So when GoGo told her she would be doing exactly that, her mother was shocked (understatement of the year). Of course, she told all of her friends, who told their daughters, who harboured not so nice feelings towards GoGo. Now this they had to see.

Getting GoGo ready for this was draining all strength Honey Lemon had. She just wouldn't cooperate.

„Okay, how about we try this. You put on that black dress, 'cause I can see you eyeing it, go there with Tadashi and show all of those stuck-up bitches that you are not to be messed with." GoGo had never heard Honey cuss, so she knew that there was no backing out this time.

Tadashi picked her up at three o'clock sharp (of course, Wonder Boy would never ever be late), and they went with his moped (Honey wasn't too happy about that, but as long as GoGo saw this through, she was fine with it).

Her mother's face upon seeing Tadashi was priceless. She stared at him for two minutes before unfreezing and shaking hands with her daughter's boyfriend. And it wasn't just her. GoGo's look and date evoked many gasps and shocked faces. The women who constantly bashed on GoGo and her tomboy ways, the daughters who were the spitting images of their mothers in ever way were whispering and either saying good or bad things about her, but she really didn't care. All she could focus on was Tadashi's eyes on her, as if she was the only person in that room. And to him, she was.

After about an hour, Tadashi excused himself to the restroom, leaving GoGo alone by the buffet. The two girls she disliked the most out of the entire group of 'wannabe mean girls' approached her as soon as he left.

„Fuggly, long time no see. Let me ask you something, how much did you pay that hunk to be your date tonight?" Andrea asked. She was a blue-eyed brunette, whose dad was so rich, he could probably buy the entire San Fransokyo.

„I'll have you know, he was the one who asked me. And last time I checked, I don't need to pay my boyfriend to do things with me." She shocked herself and the two girls when she stood up to them, simply because this is her first time doing it. Mostly she would just brush them off, ignore them, or walk away. But she has had enough.

„Yeah, like anyone would believe you managed to get a boyfriend." Andrea's red-haired friend Rei literally snapped her fingers in her face, slipping slightly on her way too high heels.

„See, you may find this hard to believe, but not everyone likes pretentious, egotistic girls who can't spend more than five minutes without looking in the mirror. Some guys just might like girls who have IQ's higher than their shoe size."

Both gasped, so loud and so fake, that GoGo just had to roll her eyes.

Andrea recovered fast enough to snark at her. „See, you may find this NOT so hard to believe, but you are not good enough or pretty enough for him, so no one here will be surprised when he dumps your ass."

That was a low blow for GoGo, but she didn't want to show them that it bothered her. „Then that's your opinion, and I would appreciate it next time, if you don't have anything smart to say, don't say anything at all."

Suddenly, arms wrapped around her from behind and she felt Tadashi's head on her shoulder. „Everything okay here?"

Andrea and Rei immediately plastered on fake smiles. „Of course, everything is great. We hope you two have fun, and we'll see you." As soon as they walked away, GoGo released a sigh.

„You alright?" He turned her to face him, worry written on his face.

„Yeah, I'm fine now that they are gone and you are here." She smiled and gave him a small peck. „We're okay, right?"

„We're better than okay."

-TN-

 _that last kiss I'll cherish until we meet again  
and time makes it harder, I wish I could remember  
but I keep your memory, you visit me in my sleep_

For days, all she could smell, taste and feel were flames. And all she kept seeing were the burns on her skin.

The showcase was great. Hiro was really starting to fit in with the whole 'nerd squad' and his microbots were a total success. He got the opportunity to study alongside his brother and friends at the Institute. But then the school was on fire, and it all just happened to fast. She saw Tadashi run for the building and was trying to get to him, to stop him, but inhaled too much smoke.

She woke up in the hospital a day later, her parents by her side. When she asked about Tadashi, they just shook their heads and looked down.

She didn't think she'd ever stop crying. Every thought, word, sentence somehow reminded her of Tadashi and the tears would start running down her face. Hiro was no better. He all but locked himself in his room, skipped meals, would spend hours in one position because he simply didn't think to move. Both of their thoughts were constantly _Tadashi, Tadashi, Tadashi_.

She felt like she couldn't breathe at times. Other times she thought she would drown in her tears. But mostly, she replayed the scene over and over again. He hugged her. He walked away with Hiro. Flames. Running.

 _No!_

Boom.

 _my darling, who knew_


End file.
